I am not sure why I reacted the way I did but basically my audiologist rang me to request another £200 on top of the £1000 upgrade he had already “persuaded” me to pay, claiming his receptionist had noticed I had enjoyed an initial £200 discount 6 months previously on my first purchase which was matched to Boots’ price and basically he thought I should pay that back!
I didn’t react well, told him I thought he was not being professional and was bad practice, but while I was expressing myself I suffered huge pain across my abdomen and burst into tears.
Is this down to steroids or adrenal insufficiency or both - do you know?
thanks in anticipation
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AnniesRyder5
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Perfectly justified reaction to audiologist methinks..and can understand the tears and anger (Pred related maybe) but not so much the pain in abdomen)….
and as you don’t say what dose you are on, cannot comment on adrenal insufficiency.
Adrenal insufficiency does include abdominal pain. Stomach Acid too. I would have been very angry and tried to extract myself from this service provider.
At the X Ray department of St James’s hospital Leeds, I was given a torn gown and told to strip to my knickers and wait in an area that contained fully dressed men. I was waiting for a changing room and politely asked the nurse on reception if there was another one. I was told by a youth in civvies who was chatting to her that there wasn’t one and I would just have to wait. I gave him my famous glacial smile and said “ yes, I will just have to wait won’t I”? I am sure he flinched. I had secured a second gown by this time to make a more modest cover up. Appalling though.
We aren't called until they are ready for us and you enter the x-ray room via a double door that makes a changing cubicle between the doors. That is appalling - I'd have had a complaint in about the lack of professionalism on the part of the youth ...
Complain , complain , complain! For yourself but also to help others.It must have been distressing enough for you , and you are used to dealing with the hazards and horrors of the health care system.
Imagine if it's happening to others , new patients , elderly patients or scared young ones , it could scar their experience and put them off going for help in the future.
I am not sure how. I was given a satisfaction survey by the Rheumatology Department that had treated me really well, there was no space to complain about the X Ray department specifically. I also have great sympathy for the callous way nurses have been treated by their employers, the NHS and the govt. The system is creaking, the staff ( except really special ones) are really miserable. I kind of thought that patients will be dehumanised and treated like the enemy in this kind of working environment. I sometimes think I reek privilege even in a torn gown - sigh!
Your support matters, we have each other and we are at the coal face.
I have great sympathy with their situation as well but that is no excuse for neglecting a patient's fundamental rights or their duty of care.If you don't want to make an official complaint you could always ask to speak to the head of the x-ray department about your concern about your recent treatment , explain what happened and how it made you feel , say you would prefer not to make an official complaint but thought that they needed to know so that something could be done to help patients feel better during their x-rays.
The only way that the Health Service maintains people's support in their fight for better conditions is by continuing to treat patients as vulnerable friends and clients rather than the enemy.
if nurses didn’t have to go to Uni when A levels suffice and the pay was increased to suit what the do we wouldn’t have a shortage. Where does a Uni teach them compassion. I believe they don’t have to pay the fees . But why would peeps want to train as nurses for such low pay. Nurses in general should earn a lot higher wage. Same with the police force. Do they really need to go to Uni.
Some of the useless courses are beyond me when they could be earning.
My recent visit to Xray (barium Xray at East Surrey) is in direct contrast with your appalling experience. I arrived a little ahead of my appointment time and was greeted by a huge room full of people. I was immediately despondent as I hadn't anything to eat and, more importantly, my morning latte, but no, at just about my appointed time a charming nurse came to fetch me ushered me to a smaller waiting area. Despondency rising again, but no again, within minutes the same nurse escorted me into the Xray room. All the staff (5 I think including some trainees) introduced themselves and the procedure was clearly explained. All done and dusted I was supping my latte within 1/2 hour. Full marks to East Surrey for this one.
when I had done minor plastic surgery done to my back there were 5 doctors in the op theatre. 3 of which were huddled in a corner chatting. I had waited from 730am to 1130 to get to this point
Have you got any other health issues that can also give you increased stomach acid , or do you suffer from IBS ? The pain of which can often come on suddenly and severely when you are under stress and likely to tighten the abdominal muscle area.
The tears can definitely be related to difficulty in controlling emotions because of the effect of the steroids on your " fight or flight " response and the speed and regulation of hormones are released in the body. If you have other stress at the moment too , it's not uncommon for it to present itself as rapid pain in the stomach or temples , Pain is as much a body response to Mental Stress as it is too physical stress. Nausea is also not uncommon during an argument.
I think someone needs to put his surcharge somewhere he couldn't even see it with his scope!
I have always suffered stomach problems when upset, angry, anxious and all the rest. What a creep you had to deal with.
As a long time wearer of hearing aids I wonder if you are eligible for free ones from the NHS. At one point I went private and had a stupid audiologist. The aides weren't any better than the NHS ones and his service was c***. I was in my early 50s and he was shaking his head and tut tutting as the test was going on. So I said is it as bad as all that. Yes he said I seldom see this amount of hearing loss in people in their 90s. So I said that was depressing thing to say! He hotly denied he was depressing but he had no idea of the impact of his words on me! His aides were no better in my opinion so I have been back with NHS ones for years now. I get quite annoyed by the advertisements for expensive aides because the NHS ones are free batteries and all.
I just checked with the NHS site and "NHS Hearing Aids are available for anyone in the UK that is suffering from hearing loss problems." There is a step by step guide just in case anyone thinks they can't afford help. It is a very isolating problem not being able to hear and it was hellish when everyone was wearing masks as I lip read quite a lot.
Thanks for that..I’ll keep it to hand for future reference.
My DIL has gone back to work over last year (from home) and although she like the job she is struggling a bit with the computer meetings online despite having special software… but she doesn’t want to have to give it up…
I’m not sure if this will be any help to you, but I thought I would tell you about my experience with extreme abdominal pain. It was 4 months after I had started with PMR and was taking 15 mgs of prednisolone which had helped to reduce the worst of the symptoms. At that time I was having to deal with some unpleasant family problems which wasn’t helping my condition but I didn’t think it was making it any worse.
I had an appointment at the dentist to replace lost fillings and a veneer and had also arranged to meet said family later in the afternoon. I had a very unpleasant 2 hours in the dentists chair and not only was I late for the meeting, I had used up my 2 hours parking limit. So I ran …try that with PMR … to my car, which took almost 10 minutes, and as I got inside I had a tremendous stomach pain, my head was pounding and I was sweating profusely and I thought I was going to pass out. I know it was silly but I drove 15 minutes to get to where I should have been 30 minutes earlier with windows down to keep me alert but almost doubled over with the pain in my stomach. It took a while and I gradually felt better but the meeting was traumatic and it all happened again as I started to drive home. It took me 3 days to feel normal again.
I’ve had similar episodes which I now know is due to emotional stress. My husband passed away last year and I immediately had the signs that it was on its way so I had to summon all my will power to keep it at bay during the normal feelings of grief for myself and my children. I had to explain that I couldn’t afford to cry as I knew that I would suffer terribly.
It sounds like you have had a similar experience with the crying and the pain.
I will add that I have never had any problems at all with my digestion and other than PMR have had general good health. The only possible explanation I have been able to discover is that it could be a type of migraine which can affect the stomach.
To be honest I realised it was an adrenal reaction because I literally felt I couldn’t escape. internally I was trying to stay calm but I knew he mistook my calmness for compliance and I just blew! It’s such a strange feeling and not a bit like reflux. But still painful.
I am not in a good place relationship wise and so I recognised that horrible stomach pain , which when you’ve had it makes you want to avoid it - obviously - but then you feel you’re denying your natural reaction.
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Terrible rheumatologist 
Stomach Pain
pains in stomach.
Stomach acid meds , which one plus chest pain goes on and on 
